The deputy leader of the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida has called for new attacks on U.S. interests.

Said al-Shihri made the threat in an audio message posted Monday on a website used by Islamic extremists.

He said attacks should be launched against American interests everywhere.

Al-Shihri accused Saudi Arabia and Egypt of, in his words, "preserving the interests of Jews and Christians" by providing them with oil and giving them access to waters surrounding the Arabian peninsula.

He also praised Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab for his failed attempt to blow up a passenger jet over the U.S. city of Detroit on Christmas Day. Abdulmutallab, who is in U.S. custody, has said he was trained by al-Qaida operatives in Yemen.

Al-Shihri is a former inmate at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.